Jack And The Beanstalk - The Real Story (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
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Advantages:	Teaches colours and shapes
Disadvantages:	Can drag out at the end, if you let it

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I just love Orchard Toys range. Their toys, games and puzzles, are brightly coloured and teach the children something while at the same time the children are having fun so don't realise that they are learning. The toys are for children between 18months and 10years old. All their toys are made of recycled cardboard and have a wipe clean surface. I got my first Orchard toy about a year ago and you could hardly tell that the toy is that old considering it is played at least once a week. They must be doing something right considering they have been around for over 30 years and many of their products have won practical pre-school awards, Jack and the Beanstalk being one of them in 2005.

There are not many shops that stock their whole range, a few shops stock their popular games and puzzles like Boots at Christmas and The Entertainer. I am quiet lucky though that one of my toy shops is not a chain one and is an independent one and stocks virtually the whole range. It is not that more expensive than ordering direct from Orchard toys, no more than £1 per toy. If you don't have a toyshop that stocks these toys don't worry you can order direct from Orchard Toys via the website, the phone, e-mail, post or fax. All orders under £30 have a delivery charge of £4.50 and all orders over £30 are free. To see what they offer you can look at their website or if you contact them they will send you out a free brochure with all their products in.

Website:
http://www.orchardtoys.co.uk/

Order phone number:
01953-859520

Fax number:
01953-423440

E-mail:
info@orchardtoys.com

Address:
Orchard toys
Wymondham Business Park
Chestnut Drive
Wymondham
Norfolk
NR18 9SB

Well that's enough about Orchard toys now about the actual product, Jack and the beanstalk.

Cost: £10 - Direct from Orchard
£10.99 - From my independent toy shop
Age: 3 - 6 years old
Players: 2 - 4 players

The box:
The box has the name of the game in big while letters across the top and a picture of a boy, meant to be Jack I think, holding a bag and a card with a shape on it. Jack is standing next to the beanstalk which goes all the way up to the sky with creatures on it and different shapes at the bottom of the beanstalk. It has a plastic carrying handle so your little one can carry this game around with ease; mine are all standing upright so my little girl can just pull them out of her toy box by their handle with ease. The picture are brightly coloured and drawn so that children want to look at it. The box is very strong and does not lose its shape or sturdiness like some games' boxes.

Inside the box you get:
A red bag
22 jigsaw pieces that form the beanstalk - There is a top and bottom pieces and 20 middle pieces which do not matter which order they are put together to form the beanstalk
20 cards with shapes on them brightly coloured with a black outline and the shape name underneath - there are 10 different shapes so there is two of each shape - these come on a big sheet of card and needs to be punched out
20 shapes, which are the same colour as they are on the cards - there are 10 different shapes so there is two of each shape - these come on a big sheet of card and needs to be punched out
Spinner, this is divided in to four with two different pictures, two of the giant and two of jack with the identical pictures opposite each other
Instructions - These are clearly laid out but could have used a big type size I feel and suggestions on how to adapt the game. It also gives the instructions in 5 other languages

How to play:
1. Place all the shapes in to the bag
2. Shuffle the cards and give each player 3 cards each
3. Put the bottom of the puzzle somewhere all the players can reach and pile up the middle puzzle pieces next to it.
4. Place the final piece next to the spinner somewhere out of the way.
5. With the youngest person going first, get them to pick a shape out of the bag. If they have got the piece they place it on the corresponding card and take a jigsaw piece and attach it to the beanstalk puzzle. If they have not got the shape it goes back in the bag and the next person has ago.
6. Keep going round until someone has got all their shapes.
7. Once this ahs happened they take the spinner and give it a spin. If they get Jack they win the game and get to put the top of the beanstalk on. If they get the giant, they don't get to put the final piece on and everyone says "Fe fi fo fum" and they have to wait till their next go to have ago on the spinner.

What it teachers:
This games teachers the children colours and the names of shapes. The name of each shape is stated at the bottom of each card.

What my little girl and me think about it:
My little loves games and she loves puzzles so this roles the two things in to one. As we are learning colours and shapes I only let her keep the shape if she gets the colour, shape or both right. If she gets it wrong I tell her what the colour or shape is and put it back in the bag. You can change the game round according to who is playing. With younger children you can forget about the spinner and only put the shapes in the bag that are on their cards. For older children you can give them more cards to each player ensuring each player has the same amount of cards each though.

I am not big on making kids sit down and learn something but by using play children learn things which I do prefer so my l little girl can learn her shapes and colours and not even realise she is learning. She is more likely to remember then as well as she is having fun. I find she has no problems with the colours just the shapes but we will get there, slowly but surely.

My step-daughter is 7 and she does not mind playing it, as it is not so repetitive and I can leave the two of them alone to play it. I was scared that she would be only interested with the game for a few months but if the eldest one does not playing it then I think we have a few years worth with this game. Like I said before these games have been made to last so if I have another child the game can be used again or given away for someone else to enjoy.